Another Cinderella Story: Doctor Who AU
by Whoviangirl01
Summary: John Smith, known as 'The Doctor', is a celebrity superstar who is returning to school for his senior year. Rose Tyler is a maid for an untalented celebrity, Cassandra, and her two daughters. She is a talented singer but seems to be stuck in life. Will her dreams ever come true? Loosely based on the movie Another Cinderella Story 10/Rose side Jack/Donna. Beta'd by AudreytheAwkward
1. Chapter 1

"ROSE!"

Rose's head snapped up as Cassandra turned to face her.

"How can I be an artist when you can't be bothered to do your job? Which, by the way, is fetching me bubbly water."

"Sorry. I zoned out there for a minute. I-"

"You're grounded if I don't have my bubbly water in the next five minutes. Now leave. I hate your energy. It's sad and lonely. " Cassandra said before she resumed talking to some of the dancers who were hired to perform in her video.

Rose walked out of the room into the hallway, grateful that the day was almost over so she could go home. Reaching down to grab the bottle of water, she saw someone grab one if the last bubbly waters.

"Wow. Thank you so much, Rose."

"No, thank you Astrid. Your mum is going to kill me."

"Not our problem." Joan replied. "By the way, they told us to tell you you're holding up the whole shoot. And, just in case you forgot, you work for us."

"How could I forget with you guys reminding me all the time?" Rose muttered. She

grabbed another bubbly water and ran as fast as she could to give it to Cassandra.

"Her mother was one of my dancers. Truth to tell, probably the weak link. But then she died. And I needed some help around the house, so I took her little brat in. I'm really a saint, you know?" She heard Cassandra telling one of her assistants. Rose blinked the tears that were coming to her eyes away and handed Cassandra the bottle of water as quickly as she could so she could get out of there. Memories of her mum started flooding her mind as she ran to grab her skate board. Jackie Tyler. Her mum died when she was 10 in a car accident. Her dad, Peter Tyler, had died when Rose was just a baby so Rose had no where to go. The whole reason Cassandra had taken Rose was to improve her public image. "It's useless to think about it now." Rose thought. She focused on getting home for the rest of the way.

Rose flopped down on her bed thankful for a moment of peace and quiet as she turned on the TV.

"I'm here at Beverly Glen High School, where there's nothing but buzz, buzz, buzz. Fresh from his fourth world tour... Teenage superstar John Smith says that he is returning to school and taking his senior year off."

"Oh my gosh." Rose whispered.

"John! John! Can you give us any information about what you're doing in the future?"

"Just want get back to my roots, take my senior year off, go back to school. I'm just trying to keep it real."

"ROSE!"

Jumping from the sudden screaming of the intercoms, Rose quickly turned her telly down.

"Rose, I need you pronto, now. You forgot to TiVo my soaps."

"I'm sorry Cassandra. I'll be there in a second." She rolled her eyes and scooted off her bed.

"John and his record label are sponsoring a huge dance competition where one lucky student will win the opportunity to sing and dance with him in his next video. It-"

"I said PRONTO!" Cassandra screamed and Rose ran to the house.

"Did you hear the big news? The Doctor is coming to OUR school!" Rose climbed into her best friend, Donna Noble's car. 'The Doctor' was John Smith's nickname. He preferred it over his name, and who could blame him with an ordinary name like his. Rose wasn't really sure how he got it, but it had stuck.

"Yes, of course I heard. It's all over the news. I would have thought that you wouldn't have been this excited about it." Rose groaned. "School's gonna be miserable today, yeah? I mean, we've got a basketball, singer, dancer superstar coming as a student to our school. God, think about how arrogant he'll probably be. I bet he's the most stuck up kid in the country."

"I know, I know. And you're right, I don't usually get excited about stuff like this...It's just this celebrities becoming students at normal, public schools doesn't happen everyday. " said Donna before her eyes widened. "Do you think Martha's excited? She LOVES him!"

"She's probably freaking out right now. Oh, but what about Reinette? I heard her and John broke up!"

"More like he broke up with her! She deserves it, that cow. Speaking of..." Donna trailed off as she pulled up in the school parking lot right next to Reinette. Astrid, Joan, and Reinette sat in their red convertible, pointing and laughing at students walking into the building. Rose had barely stepped out of the van before coke was drenching her shirt.

"I am so sorry, child. I didn't see you there. It was like you were invisible or something." said Reinette.

"Who are you talking to, you-"

"Donna," Rose cut her off, "Come on. It's not worth it"

Rose's stepsisters and Reinette gave a satisfied smirk as they watched Rose and Donna walk away.

Donna was fuming.

"How could you let her get away with that? That git. The nerve she has, dumping her whole drink on you. What's her problem?"

"Donna, it's not worth the fight. Honestly, come on. Would she have stopped doing things like that to me if you started telling her off? Let's just forget about it. You can barely see it now-"

From behind her, Rose heard someone scream.

"IT'S THE DOCTOR!"

A stampede of people pushed past Rose and Donna as cameras began going off and a black car pulled up to the entrance of the school. Donna seemed to be lost in the crowd so Rose didn't even bother looking for her in the swarm of people surrounding her. Not really caring about the new celebrity student, Rose weaved her way through the crowd into the empty hallway. Suddenly, all of Rose's books fell to the ground when someone in a brown overcoat bumped into her.

"Oi mate!"

The boy turned and bent down to help her pick up her books.

"Sorry about that. I'm in a bit of a rush. I have to get to the gym to talk to the coach and then to my homeroom..." He babbled on and on.

"Apology accepted mate, although that was a bit rude..." Rose teased and then froze when the boy's voice finally registered.

"That's me. Rude...and not ginger." He finished with the biggest grin she had ever seen in her life.

"You're the Doctor." She said.

"I know. I was wondering how long it would take you to figure that out. Are you a bit slow- sorry, that was rude again wasn't it? What was your name?"

"Rose. Rose Tyler."

"Nice to meet you Rose Tyler. Brilliant name! Rolls right off the tongue!" He exclaimed as a smile spread across his face. She was about to respond when a familiar voice abruptly cut in to their conversation.

"John! Long time no see. You haven't called." The Doctor spun around to see Reinette speaking to him.

"Well, yeah, I've been a bit busy..." He tried to finish but she yanked his head forwards hers and started snogging him. Rose turned and walked away as quickly as possible without drawing attention to herself. Pushing thoughts of Reinette aside, she realised that the Doctor wasn't quite as bad as she had expected.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Author's Note: This chapter was deleted a while ago, and it's taken me a while to rewrite but here it is! I apologize for the confusion and for continuing to update so irregularly. By the way, this is probably really rough because I'm in a rush to upload it and it's unbeta'd. Thanks for reading! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Another Cinderella Story, and I definitely don't own Doctor Who no matter how much I wish I did.**

Rose entered the dance studio through the old window that the janitor always forgot to lock. Tossing her backpack and jacket to the side, she turned to face the transparent glass that gave her a view into the class. Sarah Jane, it appeared, was about to start warm-ups. Although she didn't know that Rose was taking her class, Sarah Jane had been a close friend and mentor to Jackie as she was growing up. Unfortunately, Rose didn't really see Sarah Jane anymore with her schedule. She wished she could be with the rest of the class, but Astrid and Joan would see her and would no doubt tell Cassandra. Rose just couldn't lose this, her only outlet that she had right now.

"Good afternoon class. Remember, it is one thing to dance with your feet; it's another to dance with your heart." Sarah Jane began class with her usual introduction. "Let's do some stretches. Inhale…and exhale, and inhale…and-"

Astrid cut her off with the shrillest scream Rose had ever heard.

"Oh my gosh, it's the Doctor!"

Rose jerked her head up to see the Doctor walk in to class grinning and waving.

"Welcome, John. It's nice to see you again." Sarah Jane greeted him as he gave her a big hug.

"It's lovely to see you again too. How long's it been?" He and Sarah Jane engaged in small talk until the class finally calmed down.

"So, I don't know if any of you have heard yet but," The Doctor tossed his blue pinstripe jacket to the side, "I'm helping to sponsor a dance competition. The winner will dance with me in my next video."

Reinette whispered something that Rose couldn't quite make out to Joan, but judging by the look on Joan's face, assumed it was something about winning the contest. She then turned her attention back on the Doctor.

"Just try and keep up." The music started and, unlike the other dancers who immediately began dancing, she took a moment to analyze his style. After that, she moved in a way that was similar to his but still unique, still hers.

"Okay, guys, that was brilliant. Now let's add a little bit more." He spun and everyone jerked back into synch. As busy as she was with dancing, Rose couldn't help but notice the way Reinette had tried to dance with him, and the way he had almost immediately backed away. Rose shook her head and tried to stay focussed on the routine. Why was he distracting her so easily? Gosh, she hoped she didn't turn into one of those girls who idolized pop stars just because they may be really good-looking. Plus, it wasn't like she had a chance with him or anything. Rose was a maid at 17 who didn't even own her own car.

Suddenly, she remembered that audition video she had sent to Juilliard. If she got in, really, there was nothing that she wouldn't be able to do.

_RING! RING!_

"Stop." Sarah Jane shut off the music and looked around the classroom. "What have I said about cell phones in class?"

Rose dove for her phone and answered in a whisper.

"Rose? Where are you? You're supposed to be home by now!"

"M' sorry, just runnin' a little late." Rose whispered

"I don't want whispered excuses, I want crab puffs! Do you know who's com in over tonight?"

"I'll be right there, I swear." Rose hung up the phone before Cassandra could respond. She grabbed her skateboard and jumped back through the window.

"I still don't understand why_ I _have to be here."

"Come on, Jack, I already told you. We're here because my parents insisted that I come and try to negotiate with Cassandra," The Doctor paused for a moment, "and you're here because I told you to come."

"It's going to be boring."

"You? Bored?" The Doctor scoffed.

"What?"

"Well, think about it. You have an ability to flirt with pretty much anyone in the universe-" Jack cut him off.

"Even I can't come on to these people. Cassandra's like 50 years old, and don't even get me started on her two daughters…"

"Just shut up and try to make a good impression." The Doctor rang the doorbell. A blonde girl almost immediately opened the door.

"Hello," She said without looking up, "Welcome. Everyone's in the dining room and crab puffs will be served shortly."

"Hi. Captain Jack Harkness." Jack didn't waste a second his flashing a thousand watt grin in her direction. As she finally looked up, the Doctor recognized her. It was that girl, Rose, who'd bumped into him! He wasn't quite sure why he had remembered her; he'd bumped into plenty of others before. Blimey, though, she was gorgeous. Properly beautiful. The Doctor blinked and realized that he was staring and that she had just finished a conversation with Jack. Rose walked into the house and Jack nudged his shoulder.

"Looks like tonight won't be as boring as I thought."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Author's Note: This isn't a new chapter, I just revised it to make it sound better and to fix my mistakes. Big thank you to AudreytheAwkward, who beta'd this chapter. She really helped me. Anyways, not any huge changes except to some of the dialogue. Next chapter should be up soon! (;**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Another Cinderella Story or Doctor Who.**

The Doctor winced when he saw the seating arrangements. Jack had quickly seated himself across from John's parents, leaving John a seat in between Astrid and Joan. Usually he didn't really mind who he sat by, but the thought of him sitting near two girls who were obsessed with him during an already stressful evening made him cringe.

"Doctor, we saved you a seat." Astrid gestured rather dramatically to the seat next to her.

"Oh! Well...um...thanks." He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck in an obvious show of his discomfort with the situation, and then walking to the chair. Yvonne gave him a tight smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, and then turned to begin scolding his father about eating so much. Unfortunately, her attention was quickly returned back to John.

"Jonathan, we are so glad you could make it. I know you have a busy schedule and-"

"Mum, _please_ don't call me that. It's John, or the Doctor if you like that better, alright? And, besides, I just came here to confirm what I already said to Cassandra's offer. I would really prefer not to work with her because of previous experiences."

"John, you would do well to reconsider this." Yvonne said.

"Your father and I only want what's best for you. We feel like it might be better for you to reach out to a different audience, people like me and your father. As your managers-"

"Ow!" John yelped as he felt Astrid's fingers pinch his bum. She smiled at him seductively as he scooted his chair away from her.

"Hold on. You guys aren't the Doctor's managers; I am! Neither of you have been at every single one of his shows or supported him 100% all the way. I am his one and only-" Jack was cut off by Yvonne's cold voice.

"Oh, shut up Jack. Everyone knows that I-"

"Hello everyone. I'm here, I'm here. Sorry it took so long; there were issues coming down the stairs in this dress." Cassandra said.

John almost preferred Yvonne's lecture over Cassandra's flaunting herself everywhere.

"John, oh this is lovely! I was afraid you wouldn't be able to make it, but it's nice to see that you are finally taking an interest in your career."

The Doctor decided to take a deep breath before he commented.

"I'm assuming you've realized the value of doing a duet with someone as immensely popular and talented as me."

"Cassandra, my decision has not changed since the last time you asked me."

"But John, dear, you know how much this could help your image. Dorian, tell him." Yvonne looked pointedly at her husband.

"Son, your mum is right. " Dorian was a rather large man who had been well off for the majority of his life. His whole body had a slightly bluish color due to some medical condition that he claimed he had, but John was positive that it was just because of the food he ate.

"You people do realized she called me 'overrated and extremely untalented' in an interview last time we worked together, right?"

"She didn't mean it..."

"How can you call someone overrated and not mean it?" Jack mumbled.

"Shut up Jack." Yvonne snapped and her mouth opened to begin another sentence.

"You know what? I'm done." John flew out of his chair right into Rose, falling on top of her and spilling appetizers everywhere.

"Hello."

"Hello." She smiled a little despite her situation.

"We have to stop meeting like this." He said as he jumped up and offered his hand. Rose took it almost immediately.

"ROSE! Pick this mess up immediately." Cassandra screeched, looking enraged. Rose barely had time to think before she felt a cool hand in hers.

"Run."

And suddenly she was being pulled out of the house. Rose wasn't quite sure how long they had been running when the Doctor finally dropped her hand. They both let out a sigh of relief and then turned to look at each other. As soon as their eyes met, laughter bubble up from inside each of them. Rose sat down in the moist grass and stared into the street.

"Thank you. For saving me in there. Cassandra is going to kill me when I get back, but it's still nice to get away. " she said, looking up at him. He plopped himself down next to her and laid down on the grass.

"Why are you working for her? I'm assuming the pay must be pretty fantastic for you to stay there. "

There was a moment of silence, and for a moment John thought she hadn't heard him. He turned his head to her just as a tear slipped down her cheek.

"My parents...they, um, they passed away a long time ago, so now I live with her. She doesn't really pay me, but I get food and a room so 's alright. "

He sat up for a second.

"I'm sorry. I so sorry that they're gone."

Something inside her softened upon seeing the sincerity in his eyes.

"Yeah, thanks. It's not your fault. Anyways, the thing is that I've gotta work for Cassandra all the time, so I really don't have time to get a job. If I can't get a job, I kind of have to stay here forever. " Rose said, laying back on the grass.

"Forever and ever." John said with a smile on his face an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Oi!" Her arm flew out and smacked his chest. He let out a chuckle and realized that nobody had ever really treated him like this, like a normal person except for maybe Jack.

"You must enjoy school, then, seeing as it's your only chance to get away from Cassandra. "

"Yeah, I suppose it's alright. I actually kind of like it except for this government class. I don't really understand and the teacher isn't all that helpful."

"This wouldn't happen to be Mr. Saxon's class, would it?"

"Yeah."

"Weeeell, not to brag but I am sort of a genius at everything-"

"Hold on. Did you just say that you weren't going to brag and then call yourself a genius?"

"...and," he continued, "if you ever needed help, I could always assist you. I mean, you did say that you didn't have enough free time to get a job, but this could be for an hour a week and I'm a pretty good..." He paused to take a breath.

"I don't know. None of my friends really know about me needing help, and I don't know you that well... But I do need help or I'll have to take the class all over again, and I really don't want Mr. Saxon ever again. Do you really think you can help?"

"Of course. Would you be able to come to the school library Friday right after school?"

"Yeah, that'd be great."

A grin lit up her face that made the whole world seem brighter to him. After continuing to talk for almost two hours about things like future plans to travel and constellations, they heard footsteps approaching them.

"Doctor, what are you- Oh, both of you are still out here. Rose, wasn't it? I never forget a gorgeous face. Would you guys mind if I joined you?"

"Jack." The Doctor practically growled.

"I actually need to be getting back inside now. Cassandra must be ready to demolish my room. Thank you, Doctor, for tonight. Jack." She winked at him and Jack laughed.

"I like her. She's really something and it's a shame she has to waste her time with that-"

"I know, Jack. I know."

A/N: So, what did you guys think? Were the characters in character? Was there too much dialogue? Anything I did right or wrong?


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Author's Note: Yes, I actually updated on time for this chapter. Thank you to everyone who is sticking with this story and remember, I really appreciate your feedback! The quality is going to start improving thanks to my amazing beta AudreytheAwkward. I'll admit I struggled with this chapter a bit, but she really helped straighten it out. Anyways, here's the chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Another Cinderella Story or Doctor Who. **

"Cassandra did what?" Donna slammed on the brakes and turned to look at Rose.

"Why in the world do you let her treat you like that? You're way better than her and shouldn't have to listen to all her nagging. It wasn't your fault that idiot, the Doctor, bumped into you. He should have picked it up for you!"

Rose felt like she might go deaf if she was stuck with Donna in the rickety car for one more second.

"I sound like my mum, don't I? Gosh, she's always telling me what to do. It feels like she wants to make all of my decisions for me. It's my life, you'd think she'd get that by now. You know what, just don't listen to me nattering on. I just hate that you're stuck working as a slave for those nasty people. One day, you are going to get out of there and do something brilliant with your life. I swear you will. "

"Yeah, thanks. I know how much you care, and I really appreciate it. It's just I don't see the point in complaining about it when there's nothing I can do." Rose sighed a little and closed her eyes.

"Listen to us, though, gossiping about my life and Cassandra. How was your date last night with Lance?" Rose's tongue poked between her teeth as she grinned at Donna.(R4) For as long as she could remember, Donna had dreamed about her Prince Charming. With Lance, it seemed like that her dream may have come true. Although Rose didn't particularly like him for a reason she couldn't quite put her finger on, she was happy for Donna. Looking at Donna, however, Rose didn't really see the happy expression she had expected.

"Nothing special, I'll tell you that much." She rolled her eyes a little.

"I swear, all he talks about is that Racnoss girl, you know the one who is the head of that club he's in. All we did was stop by a coffee place and get a cuppa!" Donna sounded a bit disappointed, and Rose realized that it was more than just the crappy date.

"I'm sorry it didn't work out." She said sympathetically.

"Yeah, well it wouldn't shock me if he was doing more than club business with her. I caught them getting a little affectionate with each other the other day, hugs and hand holding, but Lance swears they're just friends."

"Oh my god. Donna, you deserve way better than that git!"

"That 'git' is probably the only one who would go out with me."

"Don't give me that. You, Donna Noble, are the most important woman in all of creation. Any bloke would be lucky to have you."

"Thank you, Rose." Donna said, parking the car and turning to face Rose, her eyes sparkling with tears.

Rose smiled at her as they both stepped out of the car.

"What are friends for?"

Mr. Saxon had apparently had a bad day. That much was obvious to Rose as she noticed his stiff posture and the way he was glaring at the class already. The so far innocent class seemed to be oblivious to his stance for the most part, at least until he spoke.

"I graded everyone's quizzes the other day, and I must say the results were rather disappointing to say it he least. We had-" A beep from the intercom cut him off.

"Students, please pay close attention to this announcement. Honoring the return of our student John Smith-"

The announcement was paused to allow a chorus of screams and the Doctor to wink at some of the girls.

"-a dance competition will be held in the spring. The prize for first place will be filming a music video with the Doctor! Good luck to all participants and have a good rest of the day."

Rose rolled her eyes as every single person in the class ran up to John's desk. She honestly couldn't believe how at ease he seemed with all those people around him.

"That's enough. Everyone sit down immediately. If you're not there by the time I finish this sentence, there's several classrooms that you can clean after class." Mr. Saxon looked around the room.

"Okay, good everyone's in their seats. Anyways, as I was saying, I spent the majority of my precious time this weekend grading your quizzes. The average was about 65% for the entire grade, but you apes managed to score better than that lot." He said, making brief eye contact with students like Martha who always got top marks.

Rose zoned out for the rest of the speech and just watched as Mr. Saxon handed out each quiz. She didn't miss when he glared at the Doctor for an extra second before moving on, or how the Doctor's face became smug after he looked at his grade.

"Ms. Tyler!"Her gaze snapped away from John towards Mr. Saxon. "See me after class." He smiled rather unpleasantly in a way that made her skin crawl, and then moved on to the next student. Slowly, Rose turned over her paper in order to see her grade. It was another D, of course. Not like she was expecting any better, mind you. Maybe she should just face the fact that grades were not her way out of Cassandra's house, if there even was a way.

RING!

Everyone darted out of the classroom as quickly as possible-well, everyone except for her. Rose really hated the idea of being alone with Mr. Saxon after class, but if it had to happen, she supposed the best thing to do would be to get it over as quickly as possible.

"Do you have an idea of why I asked you to stay behind?" Mr. Saxon asked. His posture was somewhat relaxed as he sat in his chair, but his expression was cold and calculating.

Enjoying every second of her discomfort, she supposed.

"Um...well, maybe because I- because of my grades?" Rose finally got out.

That was the last time she spoke to him during their meeting, allowing him to rant on and on about her scores and the time she was making him waste. Honestly, the only thing she heard clearly was the possibility of her having to stay back a year. Instead of reacting then, though, she just nodded and walked out of the classroom and into the loo. Glad that she had a free period so that she didn't have to worry about being late, she relaxed against the stall door. This wasn't fair. All of her friends were in this grade, and plus, she had been hoping to apply to one of those posh dancer schools. There was absolutely no way she would get in with this on her record. Rose buried her face in her hands and let her guard get low enough to allow a few tears to drip down her face.

"Hey Rose! Over here!" Mickey Smith shouted over the roar of voices in the cafeteria. He waved a hand through the air and gestured to the seat next to him.

"Thanks Mickey." She said as she reached the seat he had saved for her.

After the news Mr. Saxon had delivered, Rose really didn't feel like talking. She had no idea how she could catch up, except for the tutoring option the Doctor offered. He had probably forgotten about helping someone like her with school by now, though, and there was no where she could get help.

"Hey, Rose I was going to ask you something. You know we've been mates for a while now. You and me, we go way back, but-"

"Rose! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" A familiar voice interrupted Mickey with an infectious grin that almost seemed directed at her. Mickey's mouth dropped as he realized who was talking to her. John sauntered right to their table and plopped himself down next to her.

"That quiz in Government, you know? What did you get?" He asked softly, his brown eyes full of kindness but also a sort of concern.

"...Why do you want to know?" Her fingers fidgeted under the table and her face becoming warmer at his stare. For some reason unbeknownst to her, all of the confidence she had seemed to be lost.

"Well, I just figured that if I was going to be tutoring you, I should probably be allowed to know your scores." He became a little bit flustered, "That is, of course, if you're alright with that."

"Yeah, that's good. I...I didn't do very good. I just..." She trailed off and stared at her hands, then pulled out a crumpled paper and handed it to him.

"Rose, honestly, I swear I won't judge you based on a quiz score, or any grades for that matter. We can meet Friday after school in the library, yeah?" He smiled reassuringly as she nodded. "Fantastic!" The Doctor exclaimed loudly as he bounced up. "See you then, Rose Tyler!" She grinned as she watched his converse-clad feet bounce away. Turning around, she was startled to find Donna, Martha, and Mickey staring at her.

"What?" Rose asked, confused at their reaction.

"Rose, did the Doctor just have a conversation with you?" Martha asked slowly, breathing a bit harder than usual.

"Yeah. Why does it matter?"

"He's a celebrity who is extremely famous and wealthy. Rose, what did he talk to you for? No offence." Donna put in.

"He's gonna help me...tutor me, I guess, with Government." Rose managed to stutter out. Honestly, why was it so hard just to admit she was getting help to Donna and Martha, the two girls who had known her since primary school. Rose looked up and noticed Martha glaring at her.

"Why didn't you say you needed help? I swear, I would've helped you no matter what if you'd just said you needed me." Donna said, looking hurt.

"I know, and you are an amazing friend. You've just done so much, you and Martha, and he offered. I just really needed it, and he happened to ask at the right time."

Donna nodded a little at Rose in acceptance, but Martha still seemed a little cold. She glowered at her food and ignored most of what Rose said for the rest of the day.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**Author's** **Note: I am so sorry about updating late. My teachers gave us a lot of assignments at once, so work on this has been kind of slow lately. Anyways, please tell me what you think about this chapter. I really appreciate any feedback at all. Thanks goes out to AudreytheAwkward who really helped with this chapter.**

Rose let out a sigh as she sat her pencil down on the library table. It felt amazing to finally understand at least a small part of what they were doing in government. Beside her, the Doctor was shoving some of his papers into his folders.

"Have you ever considered putting your papers away neatly?" Rose asked cheekily.

"Oi!" John shot a glare of mock offence at her, "For your information, I have a very brilliant system that helps me to keep everything together...mostly, at least."

Rose rolled her eyes in amusement. Apparently, his system worked well enough to keep everything he needed with him. John had brought every assignment they had done so far that year. Her eyes quickly flicked to her watch. Twenty minutes until she needed to be at Cassandra's, but it only took about 5 to get there, so she was good for the time being.

"You remember my first day here, right? The screams and cameras, all that stuff?" The Doctor asked suddenly.

"'Course, yeah." Slowly, Rose nodded.

"Why weren't you as excited as everyone else?" She noticed that he almost sounded a bit hurt at the thought that she hadn't cared. "I mean, if I'd bumped into anyone else, there would have been screams, pictures, autographs...You're probably the only one who would have stayed as calm as you did. "

Rose thought for a second before responding. She hadn't really thought that he would have actually cared about her freaking out over him. It was almost like the Doctor enjoyed the attention of the screaming fans, or maybe he was just used to it.

"It's not that I hate you or anything like that." She tilted her head to look at him, "I just haven't really heard a lot of your music, and the thought of being trampled wasn't exactly something I wanted, so...yeah. I suppose that's the best answer I got."

"Hold on, did you just say you haven't listen to any of my songs?" The Doctor gasped as she nodded.

"You've been missing out. In my humble opinion, I think they're pretty brilliant."

"Glad to see your fame doesn't go to your head." Rose smirked.

"Well, let me tell you, it's been rough but I have managed to keep it in check." He said through a bright smile. Rose burst into giggles as she took his offered ear pod.

Rose was running late. To be completely honest, Donna didn't really mind being stuck with the Doctor's gorgeous best friend. Donna was, however, trying to play it cool to the flirty Jack Harkness, who couldn't seem to keep his comments to himself.

"Hi. Captain Jack Harkness." He grinned offering a hand to her, then kissed it softly when she gave it to him.

Donna snorted.

"Captain of what, the innuendo squad?"

Jack appeared undeterred.

"Actually, no. If they had one of those, though, I would definitely be the captain."

The conversation continued on, and Donna was surprised to find out how far his charm could go. She was beginning to enjoy herself when John and Rose came out beaming and singing. God, they'd known each other for about two weeks and they were already making her sick. They were so adorable and looked perfect together. That's what terrified Donna. It was a known fact that the Doctor had had more than his fair share of relationships, all ending in a broken heart for both guilty parties. The most recent break-up had been with Reinette, who was obviously still in to him. Sure, he didn't claim to have been in relationships with all of them. There was only that girl, Romana, who was now a pop star; and Reinette that he confessed to.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Donna." Jack shook her out of her musings with a smooth farewell and a wink. "Hurry up, John! It's not that hard to let go of Rose's hand."

The Doctor's ears, Donna noted, turned a bright red as he turned to quickly say good-bye to Rose, who had also gone pink. Donna really hoped that Rose would be alright.

"Thanks again for doing this." Rose said gratefully to Donna.

"Oh, come on. I already told you four times that it was good. You're welcome. End of story." The girls smiled softly as they sat in a companionable silence.

"So," Donna began, "How was it? Tutoring, I mean."

"It was good. The Doctor is actually a really good teacher, which was weird because you wouldn't think someone as smart as him would be able simplify things like that." Rose sighed.

"You have no idea how...fantastic it feels to be able to do something about my grades. I might actually be able to catch up." Rose paused. "What time is it?"

"It's about 5, why?"

"Oh god, no! This can't be happening. I had 20 minutes left, it shouldn't be this late!" Rose hastily checked her phone for messages from Cassandra. "Come on, Donna! Faster! I'm late!"

"I'm driving as fast as I can! Getting pulled over isn't going to help much, is it?" Donna replied as she pulled beside Rose's house.

"I gotta go, Donna. Thanks for everything!" Rose slammed the car door and ran to her room. All she had to do was grab the rags and start washing the kitchen. Her stepfamily might think she was just cleaning more slowly today. As Rose ran back through the driveway into the main house, she managed to see the empty garage. Cassandra, Astrid, and Joan weren't home. Now, all she had to do was her regular chores and they would never know. Rose ran to the main house, where Cassandra was, and got out all the cleaning supplies she would need. When she was about to start mopping, though, her phone let off a shrill series of rings.

"I hope you're done with everything because the girls and I will be home in, oh, about an hour. We need you to make dinner, pronto. By the way, did you hear what they're going to call my new album?" Cassandra didn't wait for a response, "The Last Human! Anyways, clean and cook. Now. Or else I'll destroy your beloved cell phone."

Rose hung up and took a look at the house. Everything was finished, except for the mopping and the cooking. She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. Things were going to be just fine.

"Rose Tyler, eh? She going to be your new-"

"Oh, come off of it Jack. I've known her for what, two weeks?" The Doctor scoffed.

"You don't have to know someone for a daw to fancy them. It takes longer to fall in love." Jack laughing at the Doctor's flustered appearance.

"I don't fancy her! We're not even really friends yet." the Doctor continued, "Sure, she's brilliant and a little attractive..." He trailed off.

"Wow. You've got it bad." Jack whistled, "It's okay, I understand. I fancy almost everyone, but from what I've seen, Rose-" The Doctor rapidly cut him off.

"How 'bout we discuss something else? Like, oh I don't know, a certain ginger that you were conversing with outside the library?" He grinned widely, expecting Jack to get nervous.

"Oh yeah, Donna Noble. You should meet her; she could really keep you in line. Anyways, I kind of like her."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, mainly because the Doctor was pouting after not being able to get his way with Jack. If he was honest with himself, he did sort of fancy Rose. It wasn't love or anything like that; it couldn't be after only a few weeks. He couldn't deny it, though. He fancied her. He fancied Rose Tyler.

Not that he would do anything about it, of course. The Doctor was always traveling to different concert sites all over the world, never staying in the same place for even a little while. He would leave her and she would forget about him until he came back. Reinette had dated multiple boys since he left, and it had hurt quite a lot. He wasn't about to make the same mistake twice.

Suddenly, the car stopped in front of his parent's house.

"See you tomorrow, Doc." Jack said with a grin, knowing how much he hated that nickname. The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Thanks for the ride." He said.

**Author's Note: So, what do you guys think? Love it? Hate it? Tell me what you guys think! (;**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Good news! I've got an early update! I know, I know it's a bit out of character for me who usually updates a week late. I just thought I ought to make it up to you with an early and long chapter. I hope you like it. Please tell me what you think, because I'm not really sure how good the plot is. Beta'd by the amazing AudreytheAwkward, who helped to make this chapter a lot better than what it was. **

_6 weeks later_

"You alright?" The Doctor asked casually, leaning back in his chair.

"'Course, yeah. Why?" Rose smirked at his converse clad feet laying on the library table. They hadn't really done anything today except for look over this test they got back, the first one she had got a decent grade on in years. Of course, Mr. Saxon hadn't helped at all. The Doctor had worked with her consistently every week, never missing one session of tutoring with her. Actually, the test had been on economics, something Rose had never liked. It had always seemed a bit dull with her other teachers, but with him...it was different. For once, she finally understood it and it was one of the most amazing feelings in the universe to be able to solve a problem. Tutoring with him had been fun, chatting with him, listening to music, and giggling, despite the librarians protest.

"I don't know," he said, "You seem a bit more relaxed this week though. Like you don't have to go rushing back to Cassandra in a few minutes."

"That's 'cause I don't. She took Astrid and Joan to New York with her for this talk show, so I've got nothing to worry about. Except for, you know, the list of chores they gave me, which I already did."

"So you're free after this?"

"Yeah. Nothing to do for the next couple days." She sighed and glances at her watch. 5 minutes until the tutoring was over, even though it felt like they had just started. Rose Tyler, a maid, having a chance with someone like the Doctor? It just wasn't going to happen. Nah, she didn't have a chance with him. She already knew how her life was going to be; working in a shop, marrying Mickey, maybe having a couple kids. Dreaming still felt good, though, and it gave her the false hope that maybe, just maybe, her life wouldn't be so dull after all.

"Would you..." The Doctor hesitated, almost looking nervous for a second, "Would you like to, I don't know..."

Rose saw him take another breath, and run his hands through his _really_ amazing hair, before beginning again.

"Would you like to come hang out somewhere after this?"

She grinned, "Yeah. Yeah, that'd be great." Rose couldn't help the slight blush that she felt rise to her face, or the fact that her heart was racing wildly. Gosh, what was the matter with her? It wasn't like he was asking her out or anything. No way.

"Really?" The Doctor asked, looking slightly shocked. She smirked. Why would he be shocked? He's _the Doctor_, for goodness sakes. How could she tell him no?

"Right, well then", He shrugged on his ridiculously long brown coat, "Allons-y!"

The Doctor had no idea what Jack saw in Donna. She literally argued with every little thing he said. Now she was going on and on about some offhand remark he'd made about who knows what, but he had zoned out a while ago. What was taking Rose and Jack so long? It surely wasn't _that_ difficult to pick up four drinks, right?

"Oi! Are you even listening to me Spaceman?" Donna practically shouted in his ear. He turned to face her.

"No, and quite honestly, I'm not sure anyone listens to-" the Doctor stopped abruptly. "Did you just call me 'Spaceman'?"

"Why shouldn't I? It's like your from another planet or something. How does Rose put up with you?"

He opened his mouth to retort. "How does _anyone-" _A rather sharp elbow hit him on the shoulder, causing his words to die in his mouth. Rose was glaring daggers at him with a look that clearly was telling him to shut up.

"Sorry about him, Donna." Jack smoothly interrupted the Doctor. "He's so used to being a celebrity that he can be rude at times."

"Oi! I'm right here, you know. And, by the way, she started it!" The Doctor scooted over to give Rose a space next to him, all the while slumping in his seat and pouting at Jack.

"It's not my fault that you're a big pain in the-" Rose cut Donna off before she could finish.

"How 'bout we just drop it, yeah?"

"Great idea, Rose." The Doctor said cheerfully, then turning around immediately to stick his tongue out at Donna. Donna rolled her eyes and mumbled something under her breath.

"So, Donna," Jack began, "What would you like to be when you grow up?"

"We're 17, moron. We'll be adults next year." Despite her sarcastic tone, Rose noticed the way something in Donna's eyes softened and the way a fond smile grew on her face. That was all because of Jack. Rose made a mental note to ask Donna about him later. "Don't laugh or anything," Donna said finally, "but I think...I think I'd like to be a designer. You know, for clothes and such. It's daft, I know...I just think it might be interesting."

"Why in the world would I laugh? Seriously, that's a good idea. I bet you'd be amazing at it." Jack said with such sincerity, Rose didn't think it was possible he was lying.

Rose looked over at the Doctor and noticed that he wasn't anywhere close to laughing at Donna either. She'd kind of assumed that since him and Donna had gotten off on the wrong foot, he would purposely try to annoy Donna by laughing at her dream career. He didn't, though, and instead seemed to be smiling at Donna. What surprised Rose about herself, though, was how fast she seemed to be forgetting who he was. He was a celebrity, but sometimes he made it easy to forget that they hadn't been friends their entire lives and that he wasn't some average kid like Rose. Rose's stomach suddenly growled and she realised she hadn't had much to eat today.

"I would kill for some chips right now." She said to no one in particular.

"There's a chip shop just across the street, you know. We could pop out of here and those two," The Doctor jerked his head in the direction of Jack and Donna, "probably wouldn't even know we were gone." Rose was about to tell him that they should at least tell Donna where they were going, but then he did these puppy dog eyes as if it were him who were starving instead of her.

"If you're sure, then." She got up and walked out the door, feeling him grab her hand. There was that feeling again, the one where she felt like she was on a roller coaster that had just dived down a hill. Surprisingly enough, his hands were cool on her disgusting sweaty ones. Rose turned red at what she knew he must be thinking of her right now, but soon relaxed. The Doctor made it hard to feel uneasy with his constant babbling, that of which he was doing right now. He pushed open the door to the chip shop and inhaled.

"Nothing like the smell of chips. Had them all over the world, me, but London chips beat them all." The Doctor sighed contentedly.

"They smell gorgeous. Come on then, buy me some." Her tongue poked out of her mouth in a teasing manner. The Doctor had the grace to look sheepish.

"I don't have any money."

"You're a cheap date." Rose said, smirking. "Oh, alright then. Chips are on me."

_SLAM!_ Rose swung her locker door shut and shrugged her backpack on, jumping when Mickey bumped into her.

"Woah!"

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you or nothing. Just wanted to ask..." he trailed off before looking up suddenly. "I like you board."

"Thanks. It's old, but gets me where I need to be."

"Yeah. It's cool." Mickey hesitated. "Anyways, I was just wonderin' if...well, with the costume ball...if you-"

"Rose!" The Doctor abruptly cut him off. Rose jumped at his sudden appearance. She couldn't believe he had managed to sneak up on her like that. "Is that skateboard new? I've never seen you with it before. Wow, it's beautiful. May I?" Rose smiled and handed it to him.

"First Mickey, then you. No one's ever noticed that daft old board before." The Doctor looked up and, although her tone was light, the depth of her eyes seemed to suggest a deeper meaning.

"I wonder why. It's lovely." His eyes darted back to the board, "I love the color, too. This is just gorgeous, it really is."

Rose stroked the dark blue decorations on it affectionately. For as long as she could remember, that board had been with her. It had always given her a way to go anywhere she needed, and it was nice to have that freedom. "Thank you."

"Rose, can I ask you something?" Mickey asked. Rose snapped out of the daze the Doctor had her in and realized that Mickey looked rather annoyed.

Before she could respond, the Doctor's eyes lit up.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot why I came here in the first place. I was going to ask," the Doctor paused, "...if you needed a ride home since Donna's not here."

Rose smiled broadly at him. "I can't, but I appreciate the offer. I gotta... I'm just gonna be running late today and don't want to bother you."

"You know what, I'll just leave you two to it." Mickey huffed and brushed past the Doctor, who was grinning at Rose and oblivious to Mickey's attitude. If Rose had paid a bit more attention, she probably would have realised how jealous he was of the Doctor. Unfortunately, she was too busy.

"See you later, Rickey!"

"Doctor," Rose chastised, "It's Mickey."

"Oh well, doesn't matter. So you're sure you don't want a ride?"

"Yeah."

"Okay then, see you tomorrow I guess."

"See ya."

Rose sighed as she watched him saunter down the hallway and out the doors. What had happening to her? Before the Doctor had arrived, she had hated how everyone always fell for him just because he was a rich and famous celebrity. Now, every time she saw him, her heart sped up and she lost focus on almost everything except for him. _RING!_ Rose jumped. She was going to be late to dance class!

Rose's muscles ached, but she had never felt so free in her life. Sarah Jane was a brilliant teacher, and Rose really felt like she was improving. It would probably help if Rose could actually be in the classroom with all the other student. All these years, and no one had actually seen her dance. But it was almost, Rose thought, better to not have to be in there with Reinette and her group. If she was honest with her self, Reinette was a talented dancer, full of grace and poise. The one thing that she seemed to lack was the looseness and creativity that Rose felt every dancer needed. Dancing was an art, after all. Sarah Jane started the music that the class was practicing to again, and Rose began to move her body with the notes. She loved losing herself within the unique sounds of every song, as if the music could speak to her, telling her what to do.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of a doorknob twisting open. Rose froze. Why would somebody come in here? No one ever used this place; how could this be happening? She felt the palms of her hands become sweaty and her heart speed up as a very familiar face entered the room. Maybe if she kept dancing, he wouldn't look at her. Gosh, that doesn't make sense...but she bent down to touch her toes, hopefully going unnoticed by the intruder.

"Rose?"

Nope. She stopped stretching and turned to face him while trying to control the tension building in her body.

"Doctor?"

"What? You didn't tell me you were a dancer." The Doctor said, sounding hurt that she had kept something like that from him.

"I-I...No one knows about this except Donna. This isn't...you're not supposed to be here. I thought you went home."

"I left my keys here." He jiggled his keys to demonstrate.

"Please don't tell anyone. Cassandra...she can't know. She'd kill me."

"I'm not going to tell, I swear. Just calm down. Relax." He took step towards her. Rose felt her face heat up. Why was she reacting this way? It didn't matter, it didn't matter. Soon he was right in front of her, and she slowly wrapped her arms around him. Rose buried her face in his shoulder as he laid his head on top of hers.

"You're really good you know. I mean, almost as good as me." He pulled away and gave her a small smile.

"No need to spare my feelings."

"I'm not, I swear. You're the most amazing dancer I've ever seen."

"Thanks. You have know idea how much that means. My mum, before she died..." Rose felt a burning behind her eyes and hoped that he could not see the pressure that was fighting to be released, "She...she was a dancer, for Cassandra. I guess it runs in my blood."

The Doctor stared at her with dark, soulful eyes and listened as she spoke some more about her mum.

"She was really good, I think. Her name..." Rose felt the sting of tears behind her eyes again, and then looked up at the Doctor as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Her name was Jackie. My dad, he died when I was a baby; I don't really remember him, but my mum..." She paused again before continuing with a shuddering breath, "She was in a car accident. Me and her were really close, always together 'cause we didn't really have anyone else."

"Rose, I'm sorry. I really am."

"You don't have to apologise, not like it was your fault or anything." Rose felt like she should continue; like she needed to say something else but she couldn't. Her whole body was trembling and the pressure from trying to contain the tears was killing her. The Doctor seemed to understand this, and changed the topic to something else. He babbled on for about 10 minutes, even getting her to laugh a few times before her phone buzzed.

"Hello?" Rose answered in her clearest voice, expecting to hear Cassandra's voice at the other end.

"Rose, Martha just called me ranting about how angry Mickey is with you." Donna stated forcefully into the phone. Rose glanced at the Doctor who gave her a little wave, probably waiting for her to get off the phone. She smiled at him before jerking her attention back at Donna. "She says it sounds like you were a complete jerk to him. I'm going to be honest and say that, although the tale was probably a little exaggerated because of how jealous of you Martha is-" Rose cut Donna off.

"Why in the world is she jealous of me? I mean come on, me of all people?"

"I think the dumbo is rubbing off on you. The Doctor! You two are practically inseparable at all times, and then you're both making eyes at each other the whole time," Rose couldn't help but blush at that, hoping the Doctor couldn't hear Donna, "What girl in the school isn't jealous? Anyways, just because you and him are like that doesn't mean you should act that way with Mickey."

"Rose, who is it?" The Doctor asked, and after Rose mouthed Donna, he nodded amusedly.

"Oi! Are you listening? I mean, Rose, the poor guy is chasing after you like a lost puppy. You need to tell him that you don't like him like that."

"Mickey and me aren't like that at all. He knows." She looked at the dance class and realised she'd pretty much missed the whole class.

"Does he? Saving you a seat at lunch, attempting to ask you out on many occasions..."

"I really don't see what you're saying, but I'll tell him I'm not interested next time I see him. And by the way-" Rose stopped as soon as she remembered the Doctor in the room, "...you know what, leave it. I'll talk to you later."

"I'm just trying to help. This might hurt Mickey, but it'll ultimately be best for both of you."

"Thanks Donna." Rose smiled, "Seriously." She hung up and spun around to face the Doctor, who was beaming at her.

"Sorry about that. Donna just had to tell me something."

"Don't worry about it. Do you need a ride home?"

"Yes, actually. Thanks."

**Author's Note: So..did you like or was it awful? Thanks you so much for continuing to read. I really appreciate all of you!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Author's Note: Hello lovely readers! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday week relaxing and sitting at home in your pajamas like I did almost the whole time. It was amazing. Due to all the vacation, I was actually able to get ahead in writing these chapters so I'm hoping this story is going to start being updated regularly. I hope you like this chapter, as we are finally starting to get to a changing point in John and Rose's relationship. Please tell me what you think! Also, thank you as always to AudreytheAwkward for betaing this.**

"Rose! We need you in the kitchen." Joan screamed.

"ASAP!" Rose heard Astrid add. She groaned as she got up off the couch and went into the kitchen, rolling her eyes. They probably needed her to paint the pool pink or vacuum the driveway, seeing how ridiculous they could be. When Rose finally spotted her step-sisters at the table, she noticed they weren't alone. Reinette and Cassandra were with them, their mouths curved into a smile that made Rose's blood run cold.

"Rose, you're here. Why don't you sit down?" Cassandra patted the spot across from her at the table as Reinette, Astrid, and Joan kept smirking at her.

"…Alright." Rose said as she slid into the chair. Even though she normally didn't care what they told her, she could feel her heart picking up speed. Today, she had a lot to lose.

"I was thinking, since you've been doing well on cleaning the rest of the house," Cassandra made eye contact with her, "That you're ready for me to finally give you some more responsibility."

Rose almost relaxed. There wasn't much more they could give her, and she'd already cleaned the whole house. Everything was ready for her to be able to go to the costume ball tonight.

"I've decided to let you clean…my bedroom." Cassandra laughed, and Rose almost did too. That was all she had to do? She got up and followed Cassandra to the one room in the house she had never been allowed to go in before. Rose twisted the doorknob open quickly, hoping to get done with this job in less than an hour. As soon as the door opened, however, Rose took a very sharp breath. A filthy odor drifted out of the room that Rose was sure could be smelled from across the country. It was like the stench of something burning combined with the smell of rotten eggs contaminating every bit of fresh air it made contact with. She coughed several times before slamming the door shut.

"But, Cassandra, this is awful! I need heavy duty equipment! It's going to have to wait until I can stop by the store!"

"Oh, I'm sorry but the room needs to be cleaned by 12 tonight. I need this ready for my after party." Cassandra left Rose standing in the hallway by herself, gaping. She slid down the wall next to Cassandra's door and took a deep breath. This was probably all Reinette's idea, her being in control of Astrid and Joan's hive mind and all. For some reason, Reinette had always seemed to hate Rose. Rose shook her head, mentally telling herself to stop blaming people. It didn't really matter, anyways. All she had to do was clean.

Two hours of cleaning later, and the room still showed no signs improvement. Rose had vacuumed sections of the carpet, gathered up as much half-eaten food as she could fit in the garbage bags, and found her old dog under a pile of clothes. Still, she had four hours till Donna arrived. Maybe she could finish. Rose felt her phone buzz in her pocket and she picked it up. It was the Doctor.

"Hey."

"Rose!" He answered enthusiastically. "Been trying to reach you for hours! Where have you been?"

"Sorry. I was vacuuming Cassandra's room. Seriously, you should see this, it's disgusting. I couldn't see the floor until after about an hour and a half of cleaning."

"Ouch!" She could hear the grin in his voice. He hesitated before continuing. "Are you still coming to the dance tonight?"

"Nah, I can't." Rose tried to hide her disappointment. "This place is a mess, and Cassandra says it's gotta be clean by 12 AM. I can't get that done before the ball."

"Oh. Well…" There was silence. She wondered if she'd imagined the disappointment in his voice. "So, you aren't going to be there?"

"No." She repeated response firmly.

"I've got to go, Rose. I'll see you-never mind." He hung up and Rose put her phone back in her pocket. She wondered why her heart was beating so quickly now, why it always did when he talked to her or texted her. Rolling her eyes at herself internally, she scolded herself. For the past couple of weeks, her feelings hadn't died down liked she'd hoped. They just kept getting more and more intense. It wasn't like she was in love or anything, she was only 17. But this was definitely different from her other crushes. Rose shook her head again. What was the matter with her? The Doctor was way out of her league.

Apparently, Cassandra had not wanted to bother sticking around, instead going to some celebrity party. Astrid and Joan had went to Reinette's place, which was almost as posh as Cassandra's, to get ready for the dance. Rose was the only one who had to stay behind to clean up all of their messes. She was just about to start attempting to pick up Cassandra's clothes when there was a knock on the door. Dropping her gloves on the ground, she ran to the door and quickly jerked it open. Anything was better than that pigsty.

"Hello, gorgeous."

"Shut up, Jack. She doesn't want to be flirted with every time you see her." The Doctor reprimanded before playfully glancing down at Rose.

"What're you guys doing here?" Rose felt her heart accelerate, a feeling that was beginning to become familiar. "There's only an hour till the dance starts! You should be getting ready."

"That's the thing." Jack interjected before the Doctor could. "You see, he didn't want to go if you weren't going to be there. Said that it would be boring, and I agreed, because you and Donna are pretty much the only fun people at your school. Everyone else screams when they see him."

"Jack." The Doctor's face went a bright red. He ran a hand through his hair, and then scratched the back of his neck.

"What? It's true!" Jack raised his hands in surrender.

"You guys can come all the way inside if you want; Cassandra might kill me if I run her air conditioning bill up." Rose shut the door. "Seriously, though, you didn't have to come. I can stand being alone by myself, you know."

"Don't doubt it, but like Jack said, the dance won't be any fun without you."

"Thank you so much." Rose said so softly, only the Doctor could hear her.

"What're friends for?"

"I hate to interrupt you two, honestly you're adorable, but Doctor…did you invite Donna?" Jack cut in.

"No, Jack, I did not invite-"

"Because she's walking up the driveway right now, and knowing Donna, she might be a little ticked if nobody invited her."

The three stared at each other for a second, and then the Doctor began to panic.

"She already hates me! She'll slap me, or worse, when she finds out I didn't invite her! Rose, you've got to help me, I can't-"

"Oh, calm down. Donna's harmless and she does not hate you." Rose smiled at him, "I bet you two could be best mates, with how similar you are."

The doorbell rang before he could respond. Jack just smirked at the Doctor and walked with Rose to answer the door. Donna barged in immediately with two dresses, which were supposed to be for the ball. The Doctor saw her make small talk with Jack before beginning to talk louder than was necessary.

"So Rose, where's your boyfriend?"

He then witnessed Rose getting very pink, then glancing in his direction. And that comment made him think. Would it really matter if he asked her out? Rose was a talented dancer, the Doctor had seen her. Surely, no one would care if he brought her with him on his tours to dance with him.

"Doctor, you can come out now." Jack called from the hallway. Slowly, the Doctor got up from his crouching position and stood over by Rose. "Donna's going to stay here and help us clean. We think we can probably get it knocked out in about 2 hours and still have 3 hours to spare, but Rose thinks it going to take a lot longer."

"I've never seen a dirtier place in my life. Come on." With that, Rose began walking towards Cassandra's room. Neither the Doctor nor Rose noticed how their hands immediately intertwined, as if it were instinct. Jack and Donna noticed, though, and smiled at each other. Silently, Rose opened the door with her free hand.

Immediately, everyone started coughing. "God, what is that smell?" The Doctor choked out.

"I've never smelled anything worse in my life!" Jack exclaimed. Rose just stood and smiled at them.

"You still haven't seen the closet."

Three hours later, the room was spotless. The floors were mopped and spots were washed. Clothes were washed, wigs were brushed, the bed was made. Jack, Donna, Rose, and the Doctor decided to watch the Lion King. Apparently, Jack and the Doctor loved Disney movies just as much as Rose. Donna claimed to hate all the singing and dancing, saying it ruined the plot. About half way through, Jack had wrapped his arm around Donna. Later, they both fell asleep during the credits, with Donna leaning on Jack's arm. Rose had pulled the Doctor into the kitchen with her so that they didn't wake them.

"Want a cuppa?" Rose asked softly as she opened a cabinet containing more teabags than the Doctor had ever seen.

"Yes, please. And as much sugar you can put in there please."

Rose finished in about 5 minutes, bringing both cups of tea to the table. The two sat in a companionable silence for a while until Rose finally said something.

"Thank you so much for this." She said quietly. "No one has ever done something this sweet for me, and you have no idea how much this means to me."

"I couldn't just let you sit here alone, could I now? Besides…" He hesitated for so long, Rose thought that he just wouldn't finish. "You're worth it to me."

Rose felt her heart rate increase again. She knew she had to be imagining things, but the way he'd said that, it made her feel like maybe what she felt wasn't so one-sided after all.

"I-I really like you, Rose. A lot. I was wondering…wondering if maybe-" He ran a hand through his hair, and looked at her with such intensity that she thought she was dreaming. "If you wanted to go out with me."

Rose's breath hitched and she knew that he couldn't, he just couldn't, mean what she thought he did.

"We go out all the time." She laughed nervously and the Doctor frowned before letting a grin light up his face.

"Yeah. Of course, silly me." He looked down awkwardly. "Me and Jack should probably go. You know, before Cassandra gets back."

Rose stared at him for a moment before jerking back to attention. "Yeah. Thanks again. See you Friday." He walked out of the kitchen and Rose buried her head in her arms. Why did she have to mess everything up?


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Okay, so I wanted to put Martha and Mickey in here a bit more. I'm not sure how I did, but they are in here. I'm not sure if there is enough Martha, but Mickey plays a pretty major character here. And just so you guys no, I'm not trying to Martha-bash at all. She is not the mean girl; she just has a crush on the Doctor. Please enjoy! Beta'd by AudreytheAwkward**

"Rose, where were you last night?" Mickey asked as she sat down in the seat next to him, placing her tray on the table roughly.

"I was just-" She stopped. Maybe it was best if she told Mickey as little as possible about her hanging out with the Doctor. He was already jealous. "Cassandra had me stay home and clean."

"Why didn't you tell me? I would've come over and stayed with you!"

Rose sighed at Mickey's expression. She really needed to make it clear she wasn't interested in him like that, but she also didn't want to hurt him.

"S'fine. The Doctor came over with Jack and Donna and they helped me clean." Shrugging it off like nothing, she stuffed her mouth full to avoid any other questions from Mickey. His mouth opened once more, but then his eyes became hard and his mouth was clamped shut.

"Hello," The Doctor said as he sat down on the other side of Rose without his usual enthusiasm. He was barely looking at her. Was he angry about last night? She should talk to him, she really should, but it was just to hard. She glanced in his direction and mumbled a greeting before looking back at her tray. For some reason, she couldn't seem to put together an intelligible thing to say. Why had she acted like that yesterday? The Doctor had asked her out! Why hadn't she just said yes? Now he probably hated her.

"Doctor," Mickey greeted before glaring back down at his food. She really needed to talk to the Doctor.

"Hi, Doctor," Martha giggled, oblivious to the drama unfolding, and slid down to sit across from him. Rose had to grab her seat to stop her from jumping at Martha and wiping that smile off her face. She shook her head mentally. What was wrong with Rose?

"Martha Jones! Pleasure to see you again. How long's it been?" He grinned at her.

"Two weeks, three days, four hours, and eighteen minutes," she rattled off excitedly.

"Really, two weeks? Blimey, time flies. It's been two weeks too long, I suppose." Martha blushed and Rose felt like she was about to cry. But then again, what right did she have to him? He was the Doctor. It wasn't like he'd taken some special fancy to Rose Tyler, she just happened to be the most convenient at the time.

"I almost forgot where I last talked to you!" He exclaimed with a charming smirk. "It was that play we were in, right?"

"You didn't tell me you were in a play," Rose said, wondering why he, of all people, wouldn't mention that. The Doctor told her everything.

"You see-" Martha started smiling as he interrupted her.

"There was this Sleeping Beauty play-" the Doctor started.

"He played the prince and I was Sleeping Beauty.*" Martha finished. Rose felt her heart drop a little.

"Why didn't you tell us?" She asked Martha.

"I'm not sure. Just didn't think you guys would be interested." She sounded a little bit depressed before cheering up immediately. "That was the best kiss of my life! Pretend kiss, but still…"

That was when Rose broke. She thought that he had actually liked her, that the Doctor had felt something for her. Apparently, he had been snogging Martha. How could she be so stupid?

"I'm not hungry anymore," She managed to get out in a reasonably strong voice. "I think I'll go use the loo."

Donna glared at the Doctor before running after her.

"What a git," Mickey muttered under his breath before moving as far away from the Doctor as he could. Jack looked at him questioningly.

"I'm sorry about them. They can be a bit moody at times."* Martha apologized, seemingly happy that she had been able to get the celebrity to herself. The Doctor just groaned and rubbed his eyes before picking up his tray.

"I think I'm going to visit the library."

"Me too.*" Jack said quickly as he followed the Doctor. Martha appeared to be getting up to follow them, but Jack shook his head at her. The Doctor was going to need some time.

"What the hell was that?" Jack whispered as they entered the library and sat at a table.

"I don't know what you mean," The Doctor said nonchalantly, glancing around the room to see who was watching.

"Seriously? You never care what other people think of you!" Jack raised his voice before remembering where they were. "Listen, all I know is I saw Rose running out of the room with Donna, and then Martha giggling like an idiot. I'm guessing you started flirting with Martha and she flirted back, right? How could you so something like that to Rose? I thought maybe you actually cared about her."

"Shut up, Jack! Just shut up!" The Doctor yelled. A stony silence enveloped the library and he paused for a second before darting out of the room. Jack stood there, shocked for a moment at his best friend's behavior. What was up with him?

"Rose," Donna begged. "You've gotta come out. We're gonna be late to class."

"I'm fine Donna, I swear. You go ahead, I'll be along any second." She made an effort to sound convincing, despite the fact that her hands were shaking and her heart was aching like someone had smashed it with a hammer.

"Fine, but we will talk about this after school!" Then Donna left, the sounds of her footsteps following her out into the hallway.

Rose let out a sigh of relief. She needed a second alone, even if the questions fled into her brain more quickly now. How could he do this to her? Why was she even acting like this? The Doctor was a celebrity who could flirt and snog whoever he liked. It was none of her business, and she really shouldn't be making this big of a deal over the issue. Rose was a maid, why would he have any interest whatsoever in her? Slowly, she unlocked the stall door and ran into the hallway. Didn't want to risk Reinette or one of her step-sisters telling Cassandra that Rose was tardy to their class, even if it meant entering class with red eyes. She tried to wipe up her eyes as best she could and fix her make-up a bit before entering the classroom. When she was finally ready to enter the classroom, Mickey shouted her name.

"What do you want, Mickey?" She asked tiredly. Right now really wasn't the time.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay.*" He looked at her expectantly before continuing on nervously. "After what happened, you know."

"Yeah, I'm good. Thanks for asking."

"Good. Because I-" He stopped fiddling with his hands and looked her in the eye. "You know I care about you, right Rose?"

She really tried to let him down easy. "'Course. I care about you, too. And Donna, and Martha, and Jack…"

"No, more than just like that. I mean, I like you a lot." His hand grasp hers, and she realized that it didn't fit right. It wasn't just the right size as if it were made for her, or cool enough to calm her nerves. Even after what the Doctor had just done, his hand would be the only one that was that perfect for hers.

"Mickey, listen," She started but he cut her off.

"Maybe we could go out sometime. Just me and you, you know?" He asked, eyes full of hope. Eyes that made her feel like a monster for turning him down. She just couldn't say yes, though. Someone like Mickey deserved better than her, deserved someone that would love him for who he was.

"I can't. I just can't," She said. He dropped her hand.

"Let me guess, it's him, isn't it?" Rose didn't respond and Mickey scoffed. "Rose, you're amazing, you really are. But you're not especially smart, or pretty, and that means that someone like the Doctor only use people like you 'cause their convenient. I like you, but someone like him-"

"You know what, Mickey, thanks for the advice." Rose said, forcing her hands to stop shaking. She entered the classroom before he could say another word.

**A/N: How was it? Did you guys like it? Reviews are greatly appreciated. XD**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**Author's Note: I'm back! Sorry about the missed chapter last week; it was just a chaotic time. This week is better, I suppose, because I'm on vacation and have plenty of time to write. In other news, the Doctor Who Christmas special comes on this week! I'm excited to see how things go after the lie that the Doctor and Clara told each other last time. Anyways, here's the chapter. I hope you guys like it! I think I might do a second update later this week to make up for last week too. And this chapter is in-beta'd, so apologies for any mistakes. **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Doctor Who, there would be no need for fanfiction. **

Reinette's head turned sharply at the sound of a jingling bell, announcing the arrival of Dumb and Dumber. She rolled her eyes at the way they tripped over each other's legs, each one trying to be the first to scramble to her table. Astrid won out.

"Reinette!" She crowed, sliding into the closest seat. Her sister, Joan, plopped down next to Astrid. It was times like these when Reinette wondered why she even kept them around.

"You will not believe what we saw!" Joan whispered, eyes lit up at the prospect of delivering this news.

"It's about The Doctor," Astrid said excitedly, "You know, your ex?"

"Yes, yes I know who he is." Reinette impatiently muttered.

"Should we just show her Astrid?"

"Yes, let's! I have the magazine right here." Astrid reached inside her purse and pulled out a brightly colored teen gossip magazine with a picture of the Doctor on the front cover. Beside his picture was an image of a pretty, young blonde girl and the words 'Has the superstar finally found the one?'.

"Oh my god." Reinette blinked to make sure she wasn't just seeing things, and then: "Is that…Rose? Your maid, Rose Tyler?"

"Yep!" Astrid and Joan both beamed at her, and then allowed their smiles to be erased when they noticed that Reinette was not at all as pleased as they had hoped she would be. In fact, she seemed outraged at the news.

"I can't believe this." Reinette seethed. "How could he dump me to go out with that…that… blonde chav? This is impossible! We need to do something now!"

"Well, we could always-" Joan stopped for a moment, seemingly uncertain, before going on. "We have security camera all over the house, even in Rose's place. Why don't we check the tapes to see if there's anything particularly harmful to their relationship in there? Then, we could easily threaten to show the Doctor the footage if Rose ever talked to him again."

Reinette's expression became devious. "Alright, I suppose that's as good a plan as any. Let's go now. No time to waste."

"Rose?" Donna called softly in to Rose's room. "Sweetheart, I know you're in there. Listen, we've gotta talk."

Rose opened the door and walked past her, heading straight towards the main house.

"'M fine, I swear. Do I look sick or somethin', 'cause Jack asked me the same exact thing? Really, there's nothing wrong. I don't need to talk about anything, especially not last week with the Doctor. Him liking other girls is fine with me."

"You may be able to fool everyone else, but you're not fooling me." Donna stepped in front of Rose, blocking her path. "I-"

"Rose!" Joan and Astrid sing-songed through the intercom. "Could you please report to the living room?" The intercom went off.

"Donna, I'm gonna go. You can go ahead home if you like, I'm about to start homework in a mo anyways."

Donna sighed. "Okay, see you tomorrow."

"You're coming to the party?"

"Who else would help you out? Donna grinned.

"Thanks. If it weren't for you, my life would be devoid of excitement. Half the people that are comin' are ten times as posh as me." Rose said, and with a wave, she was off to the main entrance to talk to Joan and Astrid.

The door slammed shut as Rose entered the house.

"Did you guys need me for something?" She asked. Astrid smiled sweetly as Joan patted the couch space next to her, signalling for her to sit down.

"Yes, we wanted to show you something." Joan said cheerfully. "We know you've been getting rather close to the Doctor recently, and well, quite frankly…"

"We hate it." Astrid finished.

"There's very simple solution to this." Joan continued. "All you've got to do is stop hanging out with him so much and the problem will be solved."

Rose felt her insides freeze up. Even with the Doctor being such a heartless git, she wasn't sure she was ready to completely give up all communication with him. Maybe eventually, they could become friends even though she obviously wasn't good enough for him. What Mickey had told her that day the Doctor had started flirting with Martha, about how she wasn't anywhere near the Doctor's level, had really hurt, but she supposed it had been true. Being friends was something that she was good enough for, though. There was no way she was going to let Astrid and Joan take that relationship away from her.

"But Reinette thought that you might not be so willing to do this, which is why we've discovered something that might change your mind." Joan finished right as Astrid clicked play on the telly remote. A video footage began to play of her conversation with Donna before the Doctor or Jack had arrived. They had made a recording of her voicing her bad opinion of him, about how she'd thought he was an arrogant brat who would be awful to hang around. It took Rose a moment to process it all, but slowly, she realised something. The Doctor would really hate her for this. Or even worse, it would break his heart. This video would completely destroy any chance at any relationship she could have with him. Astrid paused the video, and then turned to meet Rose's eyes. There was some sick pride she obviously had about hurting Rose like this. Rose felt her heart thumping rapidly against her chest. This was hopeless. She had no options. What had she done? This was all her fault. Why hadn't she been more careful about what she said? Why hadn't she known there were cameras in her room? The questions went on and on.

"I take it you have seen enough." Joan said with certainty, a cruel smirk playing on her lips. "You can return to your pigsty of a room now. Just don't forget what we told you." And with that, the two sisters left the room, leaving Rose alone with her thoughts.

"Oh, come on Doctor. Don't be such a party pooper!"

"Jack, I've already told you. I'm not going in there no matter what, alright? You got me to the car, and that's where I'm staying."

"Whatever." Jack shrugged, before turning to leave. "You won't mind if I bring someone back, will you?"

"Jack." The Doctor said warningly.

"Okay, okay. See ya later, Doc."

As Jack finally started to leave, the Doctor signed in relief. Peace and quiet at last. He turned on the radio and leaned back in his seat. Rose was bound to be in there somewhere, and he just wasn't prepared to face her yet. She probably didn't want to talk to him anyways. Eventually, he knew he would have to see her sometime. It just killed him that the one girl that he had ever wanted this bad, had ever come this close to falling in love with, was the one who didn't want him. Then again, why would she? She quite honestly didn't know a lot about him besides a couple trivial things and that he was a jerk. Maybe, when she was ready to become friends again, he could open up to her and tell her the things he had been too afraid to tell anyone else. Maybe then he could make the right move and she would care just as much for him as he did her.

RING! RING!

His mobile let off a shrill ringtone that reminded him that he needed to change it.

"Hello?"

"Doc, you gotta come inside right now."

"Jack-"

"No, seriously. Right now. I'm not kidding, this is important." Before the Doctor could argue, Jack hung up. Groaning, the Doctor unbuckled and hopped out of his car. This had better be good or else Jack Harkness was walking home. As soon as he opened the door, loud music blaster into his ears and about 15 people approached him. The Doctor put on a maniac smile and shook all the hands coming his way, while at the same time trying to slip out of the crowd. Cassandra turned out to be the solution, because as soon as she came close, the group dissipated.

"Doctor, I see you have had a change of heart." She said.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, I assume if you're here, you must want to discuss some career advantages of performing with me. So, what do you say? Do you want to do a duet with me?" Cassandra voiced the question in the most arrogant tone the Doctor had ever heard, as if she knew what he was going to say. Smiling, he replied back.

"I wouldn't do a duet with you if we were the last two people on Earth." He then walked away from her, ignoring the cries of protest in favour of weaving his way towards Jack. This had better be worth it.

"There you are!" Jack exclaimed as the Doctor came in contact.

"Yeah, well. What did you need?"

"Need? Uh…" Jack hesitated, trying to come up with something. "Rose really needs help waiting on everyone. Can you believe they've got her working and serving at a party like this? Donna and I are helping, but we need some extra workers. You know, to give Rose a bit of a break. "

The Doctor chided himself mentally when the mention of Rose made his pulse accelerate rapidly.

"I can't. No one will let me go when they see me."

Donna walked up to them. "Just as humble as always, I see."

"Donna, lovely to see you again. For your information, I have the most charming personality out of anyone that you'll ever meet." The Doctor gave her a cheeky grin before looking back at Jack. "But seriously, though, I can't serve the people their food. Tell you what I can do, though." He bounded over to Rose, forgetting all the tension that had been there from before when she had turned him down. Ignoring her desperate protests to just let her finish working, he took her hand and pulled her towards the door with him. He could give an explanation as soon as they were out of here. When he heard Rose's voice from the speakers, though, he stopped in his tracks. A screen dropped down from the ceiling, displaying a video of Rose talking to someone on the phone. At first, he didn't process anything. All he could hear were the words of Rose ringing in his ears from the video, saying things about him that no one had ever dared accuse him of before. He almost didn't notice when she dropped his hand and ran outside. He almost didn't follow her, almost just let her be. Almost.

**A/N: Have a lovely rest of the week!**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

**A/N: Hope you all had a lovely holiday week last week! I thought the new Doctor Who episode was brilliant, one of the best episodes this season. Anyways here's the chapter. It also is unbeta'd for now because I wanted to go ahead and post, but I might update it later when it is beta'd. I hope you like this one! It's kinda short. **

Rose needed to get out, now. This could not be happening. How could Astrid and Joan have actually showed the tape knowing what that would do to her? As Rose darted out of the house, her heart thudded in her ears, and she moved faster than she ever had before. Really, this whole thing was her fault to begin with, seeing how careless as had been. Cassandra had cameras all over the house, recording everything everyone said. Rose should have known better than to say something about someone in front of one of the cameras.

"Rose! Rose, slow down." She heard the Doctor yell from behind her. If she was in a better mood, she might tease him for being slower than her. Just last week, he had claimed to be the fastest runner in the entire school. It was different now, though, that it wasn't just a game. For a moment, Rose wondered if the Doctor had even heard the recording. Why would he be running after her if he had? Why did he even care? She stopped abruptly.

"Just go back to the party!" Before she could stop herself, she collapsed on the grass and buried her face in her knees. Anger and frustration were bubbling up inside of her uncontrollably, unanswered questions filling her mind from years of doubting herself. "Why do you even care? Is it that I'm your stupid charity case? The poor, untalented orphan girl who struggles to make passing grades. Just leave! I'm done playing your sick games!" Her hands were shaking and her voice came out weaker than she'd expected, but she hoped that he would get the point. Rose really didn't want to cry in front of him because she didn't want him to think she cared about him enough to let him hurt her. She wondered when she'd started The Doctor had started to mean this much to her. Of course now, she had given up any chances of any relationship she could have ever had with him. Rose braced herself for the sound of him running away from her and for the shouting she expected, but then she heard someone shuffling towards her and felt surprisingly strong arms wrap themselves around her body.

"Rose, it's okay. Just calm down." His soothing voice calmed Rose more than she would have liked to admit. She forgot, for a moment, that she was angry with him. Forgot that he had hurt her and that he probably hated her. For a moment, they weren't a teen super star and a maid. They weren't the Doctor, legendary musician, and Rose. They were just John Smith and Rose Tyler. She felt him lie his head atop hers and take a deep breath. She did the same, breathing deeply through the quiet sobs wracking her body. After a few minutes she had managed to stop her tears and calm her thudding heart.

"'M sorry. For everything." She whispered softly. "I don't deserve a friend like you. Why are you still here after everything I just said?"

"Rose," he paused as if considering his answer, "Do you think I care for you so little that what you said would make a difference?" The Doctor's tone was somber, and her heart ached hearing the defeated tone in his voice. It wasn't as if any of this was his fault, except for the thing in the cafeteria with Martha. Rose wondered why the thought of him flirting with another girl upset her so much. If she wasn't so jealous, if she'd just forgiven him, everything would be fine now.

"You're not my charity case." The Doctor's voice startled her. "Just so you know."

"I-I know. I know." She took a steadying breath to calm her wobbling voice. "The stuff you heard on the video, it's not true. I don't think that anymore; haven't since the day I met you. It was wrong of me to judge you; guess I just assumed all celebrities are like Cassandra. You're the kindest person I've ever met." His arms finally unwrapped themselves from around her body, and his dark brown eyes met hers. They were so intent, so deep, that she just knew. She knew that if there was someone she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, it would be him. Suddenly, Rose Tyler's feelings for the Doctor grew into something greater than she'd ever experienced in her 17 year existence.

"Rose Tyler, I don't believe anyone has ever said something that's meant that much to me." He laughed. "I'm so glad I met you."

She grinned at him. "Me too."

They say in a companionable silence for a while, lying on the grass staring at the stars. Surprisingly, the sky was clear tonight and more of the night sky was visible tonight, it seemed, than ever before. She glanced over at him beside her, the light of the moon shining over his face. He was enamoured in the sky, looking at it longingly as if he wished he could be up there, among the stars.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" She asked softly. He turned towards her.

"Most beautiful thing I've ever seen." He agreed, smiling directly at her. Rose couldn't help the blush that coloured her face at that.

"That the best line you've got?" Her tongue poked out of her teeth teasingly, amused at the mock hurt on his face.

"That? Nah. Believe me, my best would make you weak at the knees."

"Whatever." Rose grinned. "You like the stars, though. I wouldn't have thought someone like you with all that energy would be able to stay still and just stare up."

"Yeah, I suppose the stars have always fascinated me." The Doctor sighed contentedly. "I would give almost anything to be up there. Traveling through all of time and space, life never staying the same for a single millisecond."

Rose thought for a moment. "You'd get into lots of trouble all the time. Probably offend some high ruler on an alien planet and get yourself beheaded or something." He laughed.

"Yeah, but I would escape before they could carry out the sentence. Come up with some brilliant plan to save both of us. And I wouldn't be the only one getting us into trouble."

"What're you tryin' to say?"

"Just that you would be the most jeopardy-friendly companion in the entire universe. But don't worry!" He said, leaning over her. "I'd still fancy you."


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: Guys, thank you so much for all the feedback on this story. 40 reviews? Seriously, it just makes my day. This chapter is a bit longer than the other ones but I like the content and hope you do to. Also, I decided to go ahead and post 2 new stories. I know, I know, I barely keep up with this one, but I just really want to post these. One is another AU and the other is the beginning of a Series 3 rewrite that already has several chapters written. Anyways, if you've read this whole thing, thanks for sticking to my jabbering. If not, then you probably won't read this anyways. :)**

"Oi! Doctor, wait up!" The Doctor groaned as Mickey Smith called out to him from the hallway. He stopped walking and turned around to face Mickey, who was running towards him.

"Yes?" The Doctor asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet impatiently. He had to go meet Rose at the library today, and he really preferred not to keep her waiting.

"I wanna-I wanna," Mickey paused to catch his breath, "I wanna talk to you about Rose. You guys have been getting really close. I dunno if you guys are dating or what, but-"

"Listen, if this is relationship advice, I don't need it. My relationship with her is none of your business."

"Yeah, it sorta is. We grew up together, Doctor. When her mum was around, we used to be best friends." Mickey glared at the Doctor. "It's my business if she gets hurt."

The Doctor had hold himself back from slamming Mickey into the lockers. "Oh, so you're worried about me hurting her, are you? From what I've heard, all you've done is tear her down."

"Did she tell you about what I told her, then? Or did she not trust you with that information?"

"What did you say to her?"

"Nothing. I just told her that she should be careful around you. Can you honestly tell me that in a couple years time that you'll remember her? She'll just be another in the long line of the Doctor's girlfriends." Mickey shook his head. "I told her the truth. That she's a great girl, but she's nothing special to someone like you. That-" Mickey was cut off by a heavy blow to his face. Stumbling back, Mickey looked shock at the Doctor's abrupt violent outburst.

"Don't you ever say anything like then. You got it? Because next time, I swear I'll do much worse than just give you a bloody nose." The Doctor's tone was soft but dangerous, somehow much worse that yelling. "Rose Tyler is more than just another girl and she is more than good enough for me. If anything, I'm not good enough for her. Do her a favour and leave her alone for a while."

"At least what I said didn't hurt her near as much as you eventually will. And you're right, Rose does deserve somebody who sees how special she is. That person is not you." Mickey said jumping up from his position on the floor. He pulled his fist back and hit the Doctor, but before either could continue, there was a shout

"OI!" Jack appeared between the two and shoved them both back. "What do you two think you're doing? A fight, really?" He shook his head. "Mickey, go home. Doctor, come on, let's go." He grabbed the Doctor's arm and yanked him along like a sulky child.

"I can't believe you did that. You should know better." Jack angrily whispered low enough so only the Doctor could hear.

"Yeah, well. He started it."

Jack chuckled. "I'm sure he did."

Rose checked her phone for the second time. He was late.

"Where are Spaceman and Jack anyways?" Donna asked nonchalantly, studying her nails.

"I dunno, but they should be here soon." Rose sighed. "Why do you call him 'Spaceman'? I mean, it fits and all, but why 'Spaceman' of all things?"

"Like you said, I suppose, it just fits. He can be a bit clueless for a genius at times. His head's up in the clouds a lot." Donna rolled his eyes. "Really, I don't get what you see in him."

"He's smart. And a little bit funny, and kind, and charming. He wants to help people." Rose smiled fondly. "Not to mention that amazing hair, or that-"

"That's quite enough, thank you." Donna shivered before her expression turned solemn. "But Rose, he hurt you. Don't you remember that? Did he even apologize?"

"Donna, I know you're worried and all, but we're fine. He won't do anything like that to me again."

"Won't he, though? Rose you are the most amazing girl I know, but what happens when you're not as new and shiny as you are now? What happens when he can sit still with one girl much longer and just leaves you?" Donna paused. "If you're happy, then that's amazing. I just don't what to see you get hurt by this boy."

Rose sighed. "What do you want me to do? I really like him, and I almost think that-"

Just then the doors to the library burst open and the Doctor and Jack walked in.

"Oh my god." Rose breathed, walking over to the Doctor.

"What?" He asked, tilting his head slightly down to meet her eyes. She placed a hand on his cheek, examining the bruise that was being formed softly before leaning back.

"Sorry." She said shyly."How'd you get that?"

"Oh, you know. Me and Mister Mickey were just having a little chat and-"

"You got in a fight! With Mickey? Seriosly?"

"He started it." The Doctor insisted, and smiled when Rose rolled her eyes. "It wasn't that bad though."

"I know." Jack cut in. "I stopped it before Mickey could end up with a broken nose."

"But," the Doctor said before Rose could start yelling at him. "It was fine."

"You know what," Donna grabbed Jack's hand. "I think me and Jack are going to take a walk. We'll leave you two alone." She then pulled Jack with her out of the building. Rose stood silently for a few moments before taking a seat.

"What was it about? The fight, I mean. You didn't just start punching each other, so what happened?"

"Well," he said, drawing out the word for several seconds. "…just manly things."

"'Manly things'? Really? You expect me to accept that? What do I look like to you, an idiot?"

"Yes- I mean no. No, definitely not. You don't look like an idiot, that is. You look lovely, not at all like an idiot." He spluttered. She giggled, forgetting for a second that she was supposed to seem angry with him.

"Oi! You two, over there." The librarian called and the two jumped apart. The Doctor grabbed her hand and smirked.

"Run."

And they did, they darted out of the library, across the field, all the way to the nearest park. Then he flopped down on the ground, pulling her on top of him.

"How was that for excitement?" He waggled his eyebrows. She laughed.

"You think you're so impressive."

"I am so impressive!" He said in mock offence, trying to the keep the smile from working its way on his face. Rose just giggled in response, lying her head down on his chest.

"Are you gonna tell me what the fight with Mickey was about now?" She asked after a while. He sighed.

"There's no distracting you is there?"

"Nope." She batted her eyelashes at him until he finally gave up.

"Oh, alright." He looked up at the sky, trying to ignore the satisfied smirk on her face. Honestly, it terrified him to tell her this. What if she realised that Mickey was right, that she didn't belong with someone like the Doctor? What if she decided to leave him? He shook his head. "You see…well, uh-"

"Spit it out already."

"Okay, okay. He basically told me to leave you alone because he thought I would hurt you." Rose opened her mouth to say something but the Doctor continued before she could. "He also told me about what he told you a couple days ago, that you were somehow less that me. I'm sorry Rose, I really am, but he was being an idiot." Rose just looked at him with-wait, were those tears?

"I'm sorry, Rose, really. Please don't cry." She shook her head.

"No, 'm sorry. It was my fault. The whole stupid fight was because of me." She smiled weakly. "You didn't have to stand up for me, though. He's right, you're way better than me." The Doctor's mouth dropped open a little, before it snapped shut. He kept doing that before he finally managed to say something.

"Rose, look at me. Look at me." He sat up, and moved Rose to where she was sitting on his lap. "You are the most brilliant person I have ever met. You are fantastic, and funny, and beautiful, and kind, and understanding, and loyal. You don't judge people based on other's opinions of them. If anything, you're better than me." He proclaimed, studying her as she stared up at the clouds.

"I should be getting home." Rose said softly.

"Alone?"

"Yeah, I think Donna needs a little bit. Cassandra's isn't that far from here, I'll just walk."

"You wouldn't mind if I…" The Doctor trailed off.

"You what?" She asked, despite knowing the answer.

"I could come with you." He said shyly, and she grinned. She loved when he acted shy even though he was probably one of the most outspoken people(with an exception of Donna) she knew.

"I would like that."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

**Author's Note: Okay, I'm going to keep this note short. I just wanted to thank all of you guys that read the last chapter and favourited, followed, or reviewed. Seriously, it makes my day. :)**

"Jack?" The Doctor's voice cut through the silence. "Jack, are you up yet?" Jack groaned.

"I am now. What time is it?"

"Three in the morning. I just can't sleep, so I decided to come down here to see if you were awake too."

Jack blinked wearily at the Doctor, who had just stepped fully into the room and flipped on the lights. The boy must have insomnia to be able to stay awake right now.

"Was there something you wanted?" Jack asked as the Doctor plopped down on a nearby chair. He hesitated.

"Yeah, I...I figured you'd probably be the one to ask and all seeing your reputation and everything...you know, you've got experience in this sort of thing...not that I don't, 'cause I do, but..." He trailed off. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Come on, get to the point. I need my beauty sleep."

"I had this dream...about Rose..." The Doctor scratched the back of his neck. "And I was thinking about everything, how she makes me feel, her in general...Jack, I don't know what to do."

"What do you mean? She's your girlfriend, right?"

"Weell," he said, drawing out the word, "I suppose so, yeah."

"Listen, Doc, how does she make you feel?"

"I don't know, Jack. She's different. There's this feeling, and every time I'm around her, it gets stronger. Every time she smiles, or holds my hand, or laughs...I just know that wherever I belong, it's with her." The Doctor sighed and ran his hands through his hair.

"Wow, that was some serious stuff. I didn't know you were such a romantic."

"Jack." The Doctor growled.

"You want me to tell you how you're feeling," Jack said, "and I'm not going to do that. You need to decide for yourself, and then you need to decide what to do next. But I will tell you this. What you and Rose have is something that most people only dream about. Don't mess it up for yourself."

"I-" He cut himself off, and his expression softened. "Thanks for the advice." And with that, the Doctor got up and left Jack to his sleep. As he walked back up the stairs to his own bedroom, he realized that Jack was right. The Doctor did know what he was feeling, and it equally delighted and terrified him. Whether he likes it or not, the Doctor was falling for Rose Tyler. She had reminded him of the person he wanted to be, before all the fame and fortune. The Doctor flopped down on his bed and grinned a wide, silly, careless grin.

Because he was in love.

Donna Noble tried to hate the Doctor, she really did. For her best friend's sake, she needed to keep a critical eye out just like Rose had done before for her. The Doctor, however, with his obviously deep feelings for Rose, was making that very difficult. Mind you, he could be annoying at times with his head always in the cloud. How, though, was Donna supposed to hate someone who cared about her friend almost as much as she did?

Rose had gone out and left with the unspoken instruction to leave her alone. It only happened a couple times a year, but Donna knew where she was going and never told a soul. The Doctor, however, seemed desperate to get the location out of her.

"Please Donna, I'll do anything, I swear. Her mobile's off so I can get ahold of her." And on and on, pestering her until she wasn't sure she could take it anymore.

"You're sure persistent, aren't you?"

"Oh, come on." He begged, following her into the shop she had just entered. "Please?" Donna turned and looked at him before finally giving up.

"Alright, fine. Wait just a moment..." Donna said exasperatedly, looking in her purse for a paper to write on. "Here's the address. You might have to enter it in the GPS."

The Doctor looked pleased. "Cheers." Donna rolled her eyes when he grabbed the paper from her and darted out the door. Blimey, he had it bad.

He drove for about a half hour before finally arriving at his destination. Honestly, the Doctor had half expected Donna to send him on a wild goose chase just so he would leave her alone. Maybe she had, seeing as though his 'destination' was a gravesite. The day actually seemed to fit the mood of this place pretty well, an average grey sky for a normal London cemetery. It was a rather small area, almost empty let alone the dreary gravestones covered with flowers. Then, there was a girl, standing alone, huddled beside one of the graves.

The Doctor made his way over to her softly, so as not to startle her.

"Hello." He whispered, crouching down next to her. She turned to him abruptly, face surprisingly dry but eyes full of grief.

"Did Donna tell you where I was?" She asked quietly, so quietly, in fact, that he had to strain to hear.

"I begged her, so she really didn't have much choice." Rose nodded, turning back to the grave. There was silence for a while; the only sound to be heard was the rustling of the leaves against the wind. He read the names on the grave: Jacqueline Suzette Tyler and Peter Tyler. Her parents. The mother's name had obviously been added later, so he was assuming that she had died a long while after Peter. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rose shiver. Quickly, he shrugged off his overcoat and wrapped it around her shoulders. Other than that, there was no movement.

"You know, it's weird. I come here sometimes thinking I'll feel better being near them. Like maybe I'll be able to get out the stuff I need to." Rose paused, her breath shaking for a moment before she regained control. "'S not like they say, though. It's not any better being here. They're both underneath my knees, rotting away in a casket. They can't hear me talking."

The Doctor opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it because of not being able to compose a logical thought. Finally, he was able to get something out.

"You can still say it, if you want. Sometimes it's better to say thing out loud so it's out there even if nobody hears you." He said. "I can leave, if you want. I can-"

"No." She looked at him. "'S better with you here. You make it better. I just…it's hard. Sometimes there are days when I forget to be sad 'cause they're gone. And then I feel so awful later because I forgot to remember them." She laughed at the irony. The Doctor noticed her hands clutched tightly by her sides in fists, as if trying to contain the emotion. She didn't deserve this, he knew. She deserved better than to have both her parents dead and to be working as a maid for an insane celebrity. She really probably deserved someone better than him.

"It's not wrong to be happy. You're supposed to be happy. I mean, would your parents really be pleased if they discovered that all you did after they were gone is mope?" Rose turned towards him and he stopped. Maybe he'd went too far, the comment just a little bit too rude. The seconds seemed to last hours before a smile finally lit her face. It grew until finally it was a trademark Rose Tyler grin, tongue sticking out and all.

"I suppose you're right." She said, looking at him for a long while and then turning back to the washed out stone. He wondered if maybe he should say something.

"Tell me about your mother. If you want, that is."

Rose sighed. "She was just…I dunno, wonderful. A normal mum, caring and kind. Cooks for you, picks out your clothes. Me an' her were really close, actually. All each other had for a long time. Now it's just me."

"No." The Doctor took her hand. "You've got me." In that moment, he really, really wants to kiss her but decides that perhaps in front of her parent's grave isn't the best place. She must know he's staring at her, because she blushes a lovely shade of pink and turns away. He clears his throat and turns away too, which is ridiculous because he's allowed to stare at her all he wants. She is his girlfriend, after all.

"So what about your dad, then?"

She bit her lip. "I actually…uh, I…didn't really know him. He died in a hit-and-run when I was just a baby. My mum told me about him, though." A tear trickled down her face after all this time. "Said he was brilliant. And it's weird, because I didn't even know him. I don't even know my own dad! My mum can never come to my wedding, or see me have kids, or…" The tears began streaming down her face now, and she wonders why she can never seem to hold it together in front of him. He wrapped his arms around her, and lets her bury her mascara covered face into his shirt.

She broke away after a couple of moments. "'M sorry, I ruined your shirt. 'S got mascara all over it now."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Ah, it's fine. I've got plenty of these things." Secretly, he's almost kind of pleased that she let him see her break down like that. Like she trusts him. He stood up, and offered his hand to Rose.

"I can take you home if you want." He offered and she accepted gratefully.

When they finally reached her place, they both paused for a moment.

"Thank you, Doctor." And that's when he knew what he wanted.

"John." He corrected softly, but she heard it anyways. She stops.

"I thought you said you hated your name."

"Not when you say it. I just-I…" he stumbles, having never explained this to anyone. "When you're famous, everyone uses your name. It's not just used by people you know closely, it's everyone. I love being called 'The Doctor', but John…he's me. And that name can only be used by a few people. Well, only my parents use it, but they never really see me."

Rose looked shocked. "You really want me to call you that?" It kind of hurts a little bit that she didn't already know what she meant to him. Suddenly, he started to feel a bit shy.

"Only if you want." He rubbed the back of his neck. She beams at him.

"Thank you, John." She said softly. "See you tomorrow."


	13. Chapter 13

_Chapter 13_

_A/N: All credit for this chapter goes to BBC and my brilliant beta, AudreytheAwkward, for helping me so much with this one _

"Martha Jones!" the Doctor propelled his locker door shut and took off towards the library. Martha leapt into motion behind him, doubling her strides to match his long ones.

"How can I help you?" he asked, not slowing down.

"Oh, well, I-I was wondering if I could do anything for you." Martha stuttered, trying her best to keep up. "Anything you need? You know, I could keep you company if you'd like. I could-"

"That's alright. I'm going to meet Rose right now," The Doctor waved over his shoulder as he opened the door. "Thanks anyways."

She paused for a moment, frozen in indecision. The sound of the door squealing closed behind him jolted her back into action. "No, wait!" She demanded, reaching out and grabbing the library door, stopping both it and the Doctor in their tracks.

She panted for a moment, out of breath, and he turned his back, walking into the library. Flustered, she followed him in and stepped in front of him, grateful that he had slowed down. "Look, I've got to know," she said, lowering her voice slightly. "Just a couple weeks ago, you were talking to me like…like, I don't know," she tugged at the sleeve of her sweater in agitation. "I thought you might really care about me in some way...more than a friend, I guess." The Doctor opened his mouth to speak, but she flew on, afraid of losing her momentum. "And since then, I've been running after you, trying to get your attention, and you don't even give me a second glance. What is it? What is this?"

The librarian raised her bent head, eyes seemingly still lost in another world underneath her silver halo of hair. "Shhh," she scolded.

"I'm finished," Martha retorted.

The Doctor closed his mouth, then opened it, then closed it again. "Martha, I'm sorry you got that impression. I really am," he ran a hand through his hair and looked over her head blankly, lost in his own thoughts. Her heart sank, but she fought to keep her face blank, void of her feelings.

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "I don't like you like that. You're my friend, yes, but we're nothing more."

"Why Rose?" Martha blurted. Hot tears threatened to overflow in her eyes, but she fought them back and tried to keep her voice level. "Why her? You do everything she asks, and you'd do anything she wants...be anything she wants. And she hated you! She did! From the beginning, she hated you."

The librarian half rose from her seat. "Hush!" she whispered harshly.

Martha's shoulders slumped, and she lowered her voice. It sounded more pathetic, now that she wasn't yelling.

"I've loved you the whole time," she paused and wiped her eyes with her sleeve, looking away. The Doctor finally looked back at her, eyes full of some emotion she couldn't quite place.

"Please. Just look at me and give me a fraction of the attention you give her, and I'll be happy."

He was silent for a moment, his brown eyes taking in her defeat and shame.

She couldn't meet his gaze, couldn't let him see the damage he was causing her. Her eyes couldn't seem to tear themselves away from his, though, and Martha couldn't help but hold her breath at the suspense. She had to wait for his words to convey his emotion, seeing as how guarded his expression had become. She had to know what he was thinking.

For just a moment, something flashed in his eyes, the same emotion as before. It was hidden by layers upon layers of shields, but Martha had placed it immediately. He pitied her. The Doctor, the boy she had pined after for so long, pitied her.

He placed his hands gently on her shoulders, and leaned down a bit so that she could almost feel his warm breath tickling her face. Maybe he would kiss her.

Finally ,he whispered softly, breaking the spell. "Martha, you are good. You're good and you deserve someone who's going to show you how amazing you are. I'm not that person, but one day, you're going to find him. You got it? Remember that, you are good. You aren't second best; you're Martha Jones and you're brilliant."

He pulled her in, and she took a deep breath, trying to memorize the feel of his body against hers.

As soon as it began, it was over. The Doctor broke away, and by the time she'd been able to process everything, he was already almost to Rose's table. No hesitation, no turning back to her. Martha sighed, turning around towards the library doors.

He had someone to meet.

He was late for the thousandth time. It was a little bit ironic, considering he had that posh watch that counted time down to the millisecond, but it was in character. At least he always showed up.

"Rose!" The Doctor called breathlessly, as he sat himself down across from her. "Sorry about that. Me and Martha were having a little chat."

"'S alright. I know it's not like you to ever be late…" she smirked, nudging his shoulder playfully.

"Oi! I'll have you know I ran all the way here. If you're not going to be grateful, then I guess I'll just-" he stood up, like he was going to walk out.

"Shut up."

He leaned in, his eyebrows raised. "Make me," He breathed.

She rolled her eyes. "Sit down."

He did.

"I've got something to tell you, anyways. You'll never guess." she sing-songed, grinning cheekily.

"Tell me," he smiled encouragingly.

"I got in." she paused for dramatic effect. "It's Julliard. You know, the school in America? It's, like, the best music school in the world. I sent them an audition tape, and they invited me to come! I'm going to New York!" she squealed.

He spread his arms wide, she dove out of her seat and into his embrace.

"New York!" he cried.

"New York," Rose repeated, letting him spin her around.

He pulled away slightly and met her gaze, confusion clouding his eyes.

It was sinking in. Rose let her smile droop a little.

"New York." he repeated, almost venomously. He squeezed her hand tightly.

"New York?" she patted the hand. "And you're not angry?"

"I'm not angry." he repeated robotically.

"Yeah you are. You get this look in your eyes," she said, chewing on her lip as she peered at his face. "It's like, there's this storm inside. Right now, it's not going yet, it's just sort of…brewing. The Oncoming Storm."

She chuckled lightly, delighted with the new nickname.

He didn't react. He would calm down. He usually did. Usually.

"It's just, you're all the sudden going off to New York and you didn't even mention to me that you had applied." he said quietly.

She sat back down in her own chair and leaned forward against the table. "Why does it matter? I was always going to go off to college somewhere. I'm not staying here for the rest of my life. You knew that, right?"

He didn't reply, and she groaned.

"You could have at least warned me."

"Oh, so now I've got to run all my decisions past you?" she cried.

He looked at her. "You are my girlfriend," he bit out. "I do have a right to know if you're going to move to a different country!"

Rose scoffed angrily. "I thought you'd just assume I was going somewhere. You are! No way you're planning on staying in this muck hole forever. You're gonna go on your tours to different cities all over the world."

"What about when I come back to London, then? Where will you be?"

She stood up. "You're so selfish! I can't just wait here for you my entire life. Can you imagine me having to see you on the telly, giving up my career just to see you for maybe a couple of weeks out of the year?"

He took her hand, trying to pull her back into the chair. "You could come with me, though! Would that be so bad? Staying with me for that long?" he asked tenderly.

There was silence for a moment.

"That hurts. Not fair." Rose said softly, sinking back down.

The silence between them for that moment was louder than any scream either of them could have uttered.

"That hurts that you think I'm so useless that I'd need you to take care of me," Refusing to meet his gaze, she stared carefully down at her feet. "You don't think I'm good enough to make it by myself."

Her voice wobbled, and she cleared her throat quickly. She needed to leave. Now. Grabbing her bag, she stood up and walked away from him.

"Rose, wait!" John shouted after her. He'd caught up to her in a moment.

"Rose, Rose, I didn't mean it like that. You have to know that. I didn't mean it like that." He said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. It's not like-"

She didn't hear the rest. She'd already gotten out onto the street, slamming the library door in his face.

She wrapped her arms around herself, fighting the opposing foot traffic that battered against her.

There was a convenience shop across from the library, and she ducked into it, shutting the world out.

She felt like someone was sitting on her chest. Pulling her phone out, she dialed Donna's number.

"Hello? Rose?"

"Yeah, Donna, 's me." She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Can you-can you come pick me up? I'm at Hendriks."

"Of course. I'll be right there. What happened?"

Rose held back all the words that wanted to come out, and instead tried to make the situation simple. it wasn't.

"It was just a little fight."

Donna sighed loudly on the other end. "Was it the Doctor? I swear, I'm going to kill that boy. Don't you worry, sweetheart, I'll get Jack to smack him and it'll all be fine."

"I'm alright. I just sort of stormed out on him, but I'm good."

"Whatever you say. I'll be there in one mo."

Rose exhaled shakily. "See ya then."


End file.
